The first disc of Made in California takes Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks and Al Jardine from 1961 (previously unissued home recordings and rehearsal highlights of “Surfin’”) to 1964 (Top 10 single “Dance, Dance, Dance”), taking in the No. 1 hit “I Get Around” with a session introduction and other favorites including “Surfin’ USA,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “In My Room,” “The Warmth of the Sun” and “All Summer Long.”

The second disc kicks off with Dennis Wilson’s rare lead on 1965’s “Do You Wanna Dance” in its 2012 true stereo mix, and ends with the title track to 1967’s Wild Honey in its true stereo mix. This disc is an exploration of Brian Wilson’s most creatively fertile period in which he and his bandmates and collaborators created Pet Sounds and SMiLE. Both albums are represented extensively, and the CD also finds room for “California Girls” (Bruce Johnston’s first appearance on record with The Beach Boys), “Barbara Ann” and the yearning “Let Him Run Wild.”

Carl Wilson’s R&B lead on “Darlin’” from Wild Honey opens the third disc, which takes in highlights from Friends (“Friends,” “Little Bird,” “Busy Doin’ Nothin’”), 20/20 (“Be with Me,” “I Can Hear Music,” “Time to Get Alone”), Sunflower (“Add Some Music to Your Day,” “Forever,” “This Whole World”), and Surf’s Up (the majestic title track, the stunning “’Til I Die”). There are also a number of rarities on this disc such as Dennis Wilson’s “Fallin’ in Love (Lady)” and the never-on-CD “Sound of Free,” plus 2012 mixes of “Sail Plane Song,” “We’re Together Again,” and Al Jardine’s “Susie Cincinnati.”

The fourth CD continues with more from Surf’s Up (Carl Wilson’s psychedelic tour de force “Feel Flows,” Bruce Johnston’s warmly nostalgic “Disney Girls (1957)”) before revisiting Carl and the Passions – So Tough (Jardine, Love and Carl Wilson’s Transcendental Meditation-inspired “All This is That,” Brian’s rocking “Marcella”), Holland (“Sail On, Sailor,” “California Saga – California,” “The Trader”), 15 Big Ones (“It’s OK,” “Had to Phone Ya,” an extended “Rock and Roll Music”), The Beach Boys Love You (the quirky “Solar System,” the ravishing “The Night is So Young”), M.I.U. Album (“Come Go with Me”) and L.A. (Light Album) (the back-to-basics “Good Timin,’” Carl’s “Angel Come Home,” Dennis’ “Baby Blue”). This CD also showcases the brief addition of Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar to the line-up. But the rarities on this disc will most impress, including Dennis Wilson’s near-mythic “(Wouldn’t It Be Nice to) Live Again,” the Beach Boys’ original take of Brian and Steve Kalinich’s “California Feelin’” with Carl, Bruce and Brian on lead, and a 2012 mix of “It’s a Beautiful Day” from the Americathon soundtrack.

The box’s fifth CD presents highlights from Keepin’ the Summer Alive (“Goin’ On”), the Steve Levine-produced The Beach Boys (“Getcha Back”), Made in U.S.A. (“California’ Dreamin’”), Still Cruisin’ (the inevitable “Kokomo,” originally on the Cocktail soundtrack) and 2012’s reunion That’s Why God Made the Radio (the title track, the single version of “Isn’t It Time”). The never-before-released “Soul Searchin’” and “You’re Still a Mystery” – The Beach Boys’ final recordings together with Carl Wilson – are the indisputable highlights of this disc, which also includes a lengthy live-in-concert portion. Fifteen songs span the period of 1965 to 1993. (The much-maligned Summer in Paradise studio album, which lacked any involvement from Brian Wilson, is represented via a 1993 live performance of its title track.)

The final CD offers 31 more unreleased tracks including a “Stack-o-Tracks” instrumental treatment of Glen Campbell’s “Guess I’m Dumb” (perhaps the best non-Beach Boys production ever by Brian Wilson), a cappella versions of “Slip on Through” and “This Whole World,” 15 Big Ones outtake “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” a demo of the dark “Be with Me,” the “California Feelin’” demo, and the outtake “Sherry, She Needs Me,” which became “She Says That She Needs Me” on Brian’s Imagination album. Radio spots and BBC performances also appear on this exciting grab-bag of vault material.

CD 3
Darlin’ (2012 Stereo Mix)
Let The Wind Blow (2001 Stereo Mix)
Meant For You (Alternate Version)
Friends
Little Bird
Busy Doin’ Nothin’
Sail Plane Song (2012 Stereo Mix)
We’re Together Again (2012 Stereo Mix)
Radio Spot “Murray The K” (Mono)
Do It Again (2012 Stereo Mix)
Ol’ Man River (Vocal Section)
Be With Me
I Can Hear Music
Time To Get Alone
I Went To Sleep
Can’t Wait Too Long (A Cappella)
Break Away (Alternate Version)
Celebrate The News
Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) (Single Version, 2001 Stereo Mix)
Susie Cincinnati (2012 Mix)
Good Time
Slip On Through
Add Some Music To Your Day
This Whole World
Forever
It’s About Time
Soulful Old Man Sunshine
Fallin’ In Love (2009 Stereo Mix)
Sound Of Free (Mono Single Version)
‘Til I Die
Surf’s Up

CD 4
Don’t Go Near The Water
Disney Girls (1957)
Feel Flows
(Wouldn’t It Be Nice To) Live Again
Marcella
All This Is That
Sail On Sailor
The Trader
California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-I-A)
Rock And Roll Music (2012 Mix w/Extra Verse)
It’s OK (Alternate Mix)
Had To Phone Ya
Let Us Go On This Way
I’ll Bet He’s Nice
Solar System
The Night Was So Young
It’s Over Now (Alternate Mix)
Come Go With Me
California Feelin’
Brian’s Back (Alternate Mix)
Good Timin’
Angel Come Home
Baby Blue
It’s A Beautiful Day (Single Edit) (2012 Mix)
Goin’ To The Beach

The Beach Boys are about to release Made In California, a major box set where classics jostle with rare gems. To celebrate, the band talk frankly about their incredible career to Ken Sharp.

The location: 3701 West 119th Street, Hawthorne, California. It’s 1960. Holed away in his family’s music room, 18-year-old Brian Wilson, future music genius/visionary of The Beach Boys, is cocooned in his private sanctuary, immersed in what would become his life’s quest and salvation: making music. “All these years later, Made In California, an expansive 6-CD career-spanning retrospective, crammed with essential singles and deep album cuts, along with a generous helping of previously unreleased live and studio tracks, offers definitive proof of the enduring glorious legacy of Brian Douglas Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, cousin Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston.
From the rudimentary 1960/61 rehearsal version of what would become their first hit, Surfin’ to Soul Searchin’, the last track to feature the late Carl Wilson, Made In California is manna for Beach Boys fans and serves as a towering monument to 50 years of incomparable musical invention. RC spoke to The Beach Boys to hear what they think of the box set and to discover what memories it has triggered for the members of the group.